


The Monsters They Say We Are

by NamelesslyNightlock, Rabentochter



Series: This Was A Bad Idea (but we know what we're doing) [29]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: (If you're Tony and Loki), BAMF Tony Stark, Blood, Bloody Kisses, Canon Divergence - Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Civil War Team Iron Man, Dark Tony Stark, Dubious Morality, Established Relationship, Genius Tony Stark, Gun Violence, Happy Ending, Inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender, Kissing, Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, Loki (Marvel) to the rescue, M/M, Protective Loki (Marvel), Revenge, Salty Team Iron Man, Suits, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Violence, Worried Loki (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:00:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24715723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NamelesslyNightlock/pseuds/NamelesslyNightlock, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rabentochter/pseuds/Rabentochter
Summary: Keeping Tony in a cage never ends well for his captors. Especially when he isn’t alone.
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Series: This Was A Bad Idea (but we know what we're doing) [29]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1388356
Comments: 80
Kudos: 648
Collections: In the Dark, Shady MCU/Marvel Faves





	The Monsters They Say We Are

**Author's Note:**

> This is NamelesslyNightlock's 200th Frostiron fic!  
>   
> Art (which came first) by **Rabentochter** , fic by **NamelesslyNightlock**.

The whole Accords Affair was a mess, there was no denying that. The Avengers had gnashed at each other’s throats, the team had torn itself apart and the whole world had ripped in two with them as everyone scrabbled to take a side.

And yet, through the mess, through the terror and the heartbreak, the governments of the world managed to wrestle back some semblance of peace. They came to a compromise with Captain America, they found some common ground where law could stand to protect the people without destroying the lives of the Avengers and other heroes who sacrificed so much of themselves already.

But everything has a cost, and in paying for the peace they wrought… Secretary Ross and the Avengers made one _fatal_ mistake.

They shouldn’t have made Tony their scapegoat—

They should _not_ have locked him away.

Tony Stark does not do well in small spaces, and he does not do well when he is restrained _._ Locking him in a cell was one of the worst things that they could have done to him—

Not because it would make him go mad. Not because it was a torture.

Oh, no. You see, locked in solitude for days with nothing to do but _think…_ they should have known that he wouldn’t be in there for long.

And they should have known what would happen next.

Though, perhaps Tony should not blame them for their oversight, not entirely. They did not know that Tony wasn’t alone.

They’d certainly done their best to ensure that he would be, showing the world carefully edited videos of Tony ruthlessly railing on Captain America for no good reason at all. They did a damn good job of making sure that the whole world would turn against him. And, well, Tony had to admit that he _did_ doubt Pepper or Rhodey would believe the video in its entirety, and especially not once they had spoken to FRIDAY. But… as CEO of SI and a Colonel in the Airforce, their hands would be tied. Neither of them would be able to do a thing to get him out when the whole fucking _world_ saw him as a _monster_ —

But that was all right.

Because keeping a monster in a cage? That never ends well for the captors.

Tony knew where he had been taken– he recognised the inside of the Raft, because he’d had a hand in creating it. The details of the systems were safe in the back of mind, and he used those hours, those days of solitude to close his eyes and pour over the memories, to _plan_ his next move.

One wall of the cell was thick metal bars banding Hulk-proof glass. He was the only one in this section– he could see other cells through the glass, but not one had another occupant. It was the same circular section that he had visited the same _day_ he had been thrown in here himself– only… the others had been released. He was the only one taking the fall for the fucking ‘Civil _War’._

The other walls were all impenetrable metal, with impassable, foot-thick sliding doors on the side opposite the viewing windows. At first glance, the place was impossible to escape– but the entirely solid nature of the doors was not a curse in the way that it might initially seem, for that meant that the doors needed to be actually opened for the guards to bring Tony food and water.

Tony was not restrained. He was not put into a straightjacket as Maximoff had been– apparently, they thought a mere, middle-aged _ordinary_ human too harmless for that. It was almost amusing, that he was the only one thrown in here, that he was being treated like the worst of the worst and yet—

The doors would open, and Tony would not so much as be given a pair of handcuffs to wear.

At first, Tony was required to stand against the window with his back to the door whenever the guards entered, his hands pressed into the glass above his head. They would use a double door system, so that there was never an opening– so that even if he made a dash, he could not get past the airlock-like space on the other side.

But…

The days passed, and Tony did _nothing_.

He was aware of the cameras on him at all times, and he used them to his advantage. Whenever he was alone, he made sure to curl up on the floor of his cell, looking as small and pathetic as possible. As the days wore on, he would stand up slower, bow his back, move so gingerly that the guards began to laugh and mock him for it—

Not knowing that the moment they turned their backs, his lips would be painted in a triumphant smirk.

There was no reason to rush. No reason to hurry. The world was carrying on without him no doubt, and Tony just… _waited,_ coiled like a snake– waited until the moment that they truly believed him harmless. _Broken._

Maybe it took days. Maybe it was weeks, or months– Tony had no way of knowing. But when the moment came—

It was easier than it should have been.

When the guards opened the door to bring his dinner, they did not bother to close the secondary door behind them. Tony was crouched on the floor, his head down, his shoulders hunched– and the guard merely threw the bowl of broth down on the ground in front of him. The cold liquid sloshed everywhere, but Tony pretended not to pay it any mind– he merely reached forward to dip his hands into it, and then brought his filthy fingers to his mouth.

The guards were laughing– they did that a lot. They taunted with quips that they probably thought were funny, but Tony did not react, just kept eating the broth with his fingers.

And that… angered them.

They moved closer, still taunting– then one actually kicked out, aiming at Tony’s gut—

But his foot did not connect. Tony lashed out with his hands and curled them around the guard’s ankle, gripping tightly and _pulling._ Caught unawares, the guard dropped like a sack—

And then Tony was up and running, right past the second guard and out of the open door, throwing it shut behind him.

The alarms began immediately, the flashing lights and blaring noise kicking up a headache in less than a second. Tony grit his teeth and continued on, knowing that if he wanted a chance, he couldn’t stop, he couldn’t back out—

The design of the Raft meant that it was possible to man it with minimal guards. No person wanted to be stationed in a prison under the water for extended periods of time, so in order to avoid paying out bonuses SHIELD had relied upon computers and automated systems, thus resulting in a very small staff of actual personnel. And, luckily, it would seem that the Raft’s new overseers ran the place very much the same way.

That meant that Tony had a few minutes before any personnel would be able to make their way to him– and it also meant that he was never very far away from a screen.

It didn’t take long for Tony to locate something that would suit his purpose. It wasn’t a proper computer, hardly more than a keypad in the wall with a few added bells and whistles– but it _was_ connected to the network. And while the Raft’s network might have been closed… that meant very little to Tony fucking Stark.

His fingers worked quickly, his mind flying as he both recalled and innovated the process that would get him through the firewalls and the system and connect to the SI satellites that were never very far away. And, sure enough—

“Boss?”

“You’ve got my location, FRI?” Tony checked, his eyes never shifting from the numbers flittering across the screen.

“Analysing.”

“Get it quickly, I don’t have much time and we can’t afford for them to—”

The power in Tony’s section of the Raft suddenly shut off, the whole place going dark. It was eerily quiet, without the alarms, and Tony drew in a slow breath.

It was a bloody risky move– it wasn’t like the place had an unlimited amount of oxygen without the filters, and the generators were what kept the place safe under the crushing weight of the ocean.

Still, it was a bump in the road– but not one that Tony wouldn’t be able to overcome.

The circular design of the Raft meant that there weren’t any corners to hide behind, but, by the same virtue, anyone approaching him would also be given little warning of his presence. It was the only advantage Tony had, and he had to hope that it would be enough– and that FRIDAY wouldn’t take long—

“Stark!”

Tony swallowed, and pressed his back against the wall. His thin prison clothes did little to shield the coolness of the metal, and he tried to use it to sharpen his focus– but the sound of footsteps approaching through the darkness was impossible to tune out.

Tony’s breathing felt a little shallow, but he steeled himself. He didn’t have a weapon– and nor did he have protection, but that didn’t mean that he could just give up.

There was still a chance here. There was _always_ a way, so long as he could just _think._

“Move back to your cell, and you will not be harmed.”

Had Tony been in any other situation, it might have made him proud– actually, you know what, stuff it. He _was_ proud. Totally unarmed and – to their knowledge – weakened, and they were _still_ scared of him. Perhaps that should have saddened him more, given that he had _tried_ to be a hero, and a hero shouldn’t be the kind of person that people were scared of—

But, no. Given all that had happened, he thought he could be proud of _scared._

The footsteps were growing closer now, pounding against the metal floor– and Tony steeled himself, drew in a deep breath, prepared to use the strength he had managed to conserve—

But just as the soldiers appeared around the corner, just as Tony’s gaze landed on the barrels of far too many guns—

The whole corridor lit up with a bright blast of _green_ —

And echoed with the sound of a harrowing scream.

Tony’s eyes widened, his lips parted as he watched the gleam of seiðr over dark leather, the flash of a wicked blade Tony thought he’d seen the end of. The guns exploded with the sound of a hundred bullets but not a single shot hit its mark, every one knocked down by an impenetrable wall of magic fuelled by rage.

And after the passing of only a few short seconds, every one of the guards lay upon the ground, an oozing puddle of red rapidly slicking the metal floor.

_“Anthony.”_

“I’m all right,” Tony said immediately, catching Loki’s arms as the god darted forward, hesitating not a single moment. “They thought they were breaking me, so they dropped their guard.”

The flash of relief across Loki’s blood-stained face was brief, but not insignificant, and it caused something no longer unfamiliar to course through Tony’s chest.

“We should go,” Loki said, the moment already over- though Tony knew, of course, that the emotion remained. It was merely that neither of them were the kind for wasting time that could be used against them.

But—

“Should we?”

Loki frowned. “Anthony, you are—”

“ _We_ are in the middle of one of the most secure places on the planet, after they kept me hostage for god knows how long. Don’t tell me there’s somewhere else you would rather be right now, sweetheart?”

There was half a second where Tony thought that Loki was still going to argue– and yeah, he _did_ understand. If Loki were the one who had been captured, Tony would have been all for heading back and wrapping them both in piles of blankets. Perhaps it was only the adrenaline, but it felt like there was a fire burning through his veins, and he did not want to leave. He held Loki’s gaze until that green hardened back into a mask of revenge, and then Tony’s lips twisted into an ugly smile.

“Then I need a suit,” Tony said. “Lokes, can you get me one?”

Finally, Loki grinned, and lifted a green-glowing hand—

But when Tony felt the suit encase him, he looked down with an arched brow.

The suit wasn’t made of iron, nor even gold titanium alloy. In fact, it looked like it might have been an Armani, dark red and cut to perfectly fit Tony– with one, perfect addition.

“Is there a problem?” Loki asked.

The corners of Tony’s mouth turned up into a smirk as he flexed his gauntlet-encased left hand. “No,” he said. “I think this’ll do just fine.”

Loki’s grin was wide when Tony met his gaze, and another tingle of Loki’s seiðr trickled down Tony’s spine. But before he could ask what Loki had done, Loki’s clothes were changing as well, his Asgardian armour replaced with a black suit and green scarf.

“Fighting in style, are we?” Tony asked.

“The Avengers are at a party tonight,” Loki said, his eyes flashing. “Celebrating the signing of the newly amended Accords. I thought that we might show our… solidarity.”

Tony felt something curl through his chest– something ugly, but exhilarating. “Perhaps we could pay them a visit when we’re done here,” he said.

“Perhaps,” Loki allowed. “Anthony, are you… sure that you’re all right?”

The concern in Loki’s tone was touching, but unneeded. Tony’d suffered through a lot worse than solitary confinement– and oh, but he knew first-hand the healing properties of breaking out in _style_.

Loki _could_ , of course, have simply taken Tony’s hand and brought them out of the Raft in moments, but… where would the fun have been in that?

Oh, no– their other option tasted so much sweeter, the salty tang of sweat and blood staining Tony’s lips as both dripped down his face. They tore through the Raft like a hurricane, leaving naught but a trail of death and destruction in their wake. No guard in their path survived– no person was left alive. Loki’s sceptre and Tony’s repulsor ripped through fragile flesh like paper, and by the time they made it to the control room, they were _both_ drenched.

There was only one man left at the control panel, white and shaking. He didn’t look like a soldier– but he was wearing the stripes, and he was sitting in front of screens which – had the power been on – Tony knew would show the cells.

Loki stalked forward, his slick hands shifting over his sceptre—

“Wait,” Tony said, one hand on Loki’s arm. Loki didn’t look up, but he did pause– an action that still had Tony feeling a little giddy, even now, after all this time. Loki was more than powerful enough to do whatever the hell he wanted, to tear through the whole place with but a thought– but when Tony asked, he _stopped._

And it didn’t take him long to catch on, either.

“You would like this one to pass on a message?” Loki asked. He turned to face Tony, his head tilting slightly in an almost predatory manner that made Tony’s breath catch. “Do you not think that we have left message enough?”

Tony shrugged. “I just think it might be fun, for him to tell the story of just why people shouldn’t fuck with us—”

“Anthony,” Loki breathed. “There is more than one way to tell _that_ story.”

And, well.

Maybe Tony couldn’t make Loki stop fully, after all– but god _damn_ , the way that Loki just flung out his hand, a dagger embedding in the guy’s throat—

The sound of the man’s gurgles were lost as Tony groaned—

And then he pushed Loki forward, his hands on his lover’s hips as their lips connected, the taste of blood only adding to the heady sensation. One of Loki’s arms looped over Tony’s shoulder but his other hand tugged at Tony’s hair, and their kiss deepened with the heat of desperate need and unbridled bloodlust. The line between desire for destruction and for each other had always stretched thin for them, ever since they first started flirting on the battlefield and fucking in the aftermath– and it was a line that snapped far too easily.

The sounds Loki made as Tony pressed him back to a wall urged him on, and when their hips ground together their moans mingled in the slickness of their kisses. Tony was already aching with need, and when he shifted closer still so that one of Loki’s legs was between both of his– it was all he could do not to thrust forward. The curve of Loki’s lips proved that Tony’s reaction did not go unnoticed– so Tony hitched up one of Loki’s legs and tilted up his chin, kissing him again until Loki’s breathing came in pants.

Tony hadn’t thanked Loki yet for coming to get him– that would happen later. For now, _this_ was what they needed, and Tony lost himself in the sensation of coming home. Loki was all that there was, and Tony was uncaring of the blood, of the darkness lit by only the light of the sceptre and Loki’s seiðr, nor of the destruction they had wrought.

The world had narrowed to just the two of them, and as he looked up at his lover’s blissed expression, there was no one else that mattered.

“Do you still wish to pay the Avengers a visit?” Loki asked, his voice low as he pushed his hips more firmly against Tony’s.

“Yes,” Tony hissed, the friction successfully pushing all other thoughts from his mind. “But, _later._ Lokes—”

“Yes. _Home.”_

And as Loki’s grip tightened around Tony and he pulled them away from the scene of blood– Tony knew that once they’d had their reunion, there would still be yet more blood to come.

**Author's Note:**

> Art on tumblr [here.](https://rabentochter.tumblr.com/post/620895929853263872/the-monsters-they-say-we-are-with)


End file.
